World champion Paul Foster called up by Team Scotland

Foster, who won two gold medals at the Glasgow 2012 Commonwealth Games and a medal at the 2006 Games in Melbourne, will return Down Under for the 2018 event, which is being held in the Gold Coast next spring.

The MBE holder will be joined by great friend Alex "Tattie’ Marshall MBE, who will make his sixth Commonwealth Games appearance and will be looking to add to his tally of four gold medals, which include both Pairs and Fours titles at Glasgow 2014. Foster stood alongside Marshall on the podium in both those victories. Joining them in the team are 2014 Singles champion Darren Burnett. 

Since Glasgow 2014, Foster has been in fantastic form, taking double bronze alongside Marshall at the 2016 World Championships, before triumphing with gold in the Open Singles at the 2017 World Indoor Championships, the fifth time he has taken this title/

Also flying the flag for Ayrshire is Auchinleck's Claire Johnston, who returns for a third Games along with Caroline Brown.

Kay Moran makes her second Games appearance - 12 years after her silver medal winning performance at Melbourne 2006 in the Women’s Pairs. Moran now lives and plays in Australia and will look to bring her local knowledge to bear, down at Broadbeach.

The squad is completed by four athletes; Ronnie Duncan, Derek Oliver, Lesley Doig and Stacey McDougall who will represent Team Scotland for the first time.

The women’s team will be looking for a first medal since 2006, and while the Gold Coast will be their first Commonwealth Games experience, both Doig and McDougall have a proven ability to compete at the top level. Doig recorded Scotland’s top result at the 2016 World Championships with silver in the Singles, also taking bronze in the Pairs event, while McDougall is a double World U25 Championships medallist with Pairs silver and Singles bronze.

The swimming team was also announced and contains a mix of youth and experience with 13 of the 21 swimmers having competed for Team Scotland at Glasgow 2014, complemented by a number of young talents making the team for the first time. Ross Murdoch and Dan Wallace will defend their Commonwealth Games titles down under, with Hannah Miley aiming to make it three 400m Individual Medley titles in a row, which would be a record for any sport. 

Just 17 when he took silver as part of the 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay team three years ago in Glasgow, Duncan Scott will be looking to step up in Gold Coast on the back of medal success in the relays at both the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and 2017 World Championships. Scott was not the only athlete on the World Championship podium this summer and fellow gold medallist in the 4x200m Freestyle Relay, Stephen Milne will also be one to watch. 

Kathleen Dawson has also made huge advances since Glasgow 2014. The 20 year old backstroke specialist took bronze in the 100m event at the 2016 European Championships, adding gold in the Medley Relay, and was a finalist in both events at this year’s World Championships in Budapest.
Team Scotland's most successful Youth Games athlete in history, with five medals at Bahamas 2017 just over two months ago, 18-year-old Scott McLay makes an immediate step up into the senior team.

He is joined by 2015 Youth Games silver medallist Craig McLean and bronze medallist at the recent World Junior Championships, Keanna MacInnes.

Five men and five women make up the Lawn Bowls team which will compete at the Broadbeach Bowls Club, a world-class venue which is regular host to the Australian National Championships finals and top level international events. 

Jon Doig OBE, Team Scotland Chef de Mission, said: “We are delighted to welcome our first athletes to Team Scotland 2018. We are off to a strong start with swimming and lawn bowls, two of Scotland’s most successful Commonwealth Games sports with a track record of success in Australia. They are also two of Australia’s top sports, so we can count on a fantastic atmosphere and tough competition in Gold Coast.

“Congratulations to all athletes selected and we look forward to Team Scotland 2018 taking shape over the coming months.”

Performance Director of Scottish Swimming, Ally Whike, commented: “I have been very pleased with the approach of the swimmers to the challenge of qualification. This will hold them in good stead to perform at the top of their game come April.”

Aileen Campbell, Minister for Public Health and Sport, said: “Congratulations to the athletes chosen to represent Scotland at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Swimming and lawn bowls helped us to our record medal haul in Glasgow and I have no doubt both sports will contribute to further success.  The squads contain a mixture of experience and debutants with “Tattie” Marshall competing in his sixth games to Scott McLay stepping up from becoming Scotland’s most successful athlete at the Youth Commonwealth Games earlier this year.  In Women and Girls and Sport Week, it’s great to see Hannah Miley, Kathleen Dawson, in the swimming and Caroline Brown, Claire Johnston, Kay Moran and Lesley Doig in the lawn bowls selected to compete in Gold Coast.”  

David Gourlay, former World Indoor champion and Annbank native is Bowls Scotland High Performance Head Coach.

He added: “The coaching team and I are delighted to have such an experienced squad representing Scotland in the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. The squad is a mixture of youth and players who have a proven track record at winning in the Southern Hemisphere. All players have and will continue to commit to a rigorous training programme which in turn will allow us to build on the success of Glasgow 2014.”

Mike Whittingham, Director of High Performance at the sportscotland Institute of Sport said: “Congratulations to all of the athletes who have been selected for Team Scotland today. Swimming and lawn bowls have traditionally been very successful Scottish sports and it’s fantastic to see that tradition continuing with a strong contingent set to represent Scotland at the Gold Coast."